Fires of Ba Sing Se
by A Bizarre Thought
Summary: Having fled to Ba Sing Se as a refugee, Zuko seeks a new life away from the fires of war. A tale of redemption, forgiveness and sorrow in three parts.
1. Redemption

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned herein. They are the sole property of their respective creators and of Nickelodeon. I am making no money off of this story as it is only written to show my appreciation for the show.

A/N: Below is part one of a three-part story I've written. It takes place during Zuko's time in Ba Sing Se. I had to mess with the timing of certain events in the show, but it's arguably canon compliant. That said, for the events in this story to make sense, you probably need to assume that Zuko and Iroh were in Ba Sing Se for a reasonably long period of time. Reviews are always welcome and appreciated and without any further ado, enjoy the story.

* * *

"Zuko, how many times can I tell you? There are better ways to live than always pursuing the Avatar," Iroh said as he put two cups of tea on the table that separated him from his nephew. "You have the greatest thing in the world here. You have choice. This is an opportunity to start fresh, away from your father's influence. Please Zuko, listen to me."

"No! I must do whatever it takes to regain my honour. Don't you understand? I've been taken from my home, my family, my legacy!" Zuko slammed his cup against the table with the last word. "How can you talk of starting over? We have nothing here, but if you would just help me, then we could return home together."

"Zuko, it is precisely because we have nothing that we can build a new life here. The possibilities are endless because we do not have the baggage of our family's legacy." He raised his glass to his lips, took a deep sip and let a brief smile cross his face. "There is peace in this city. Here, you can learn what it means to live for yourself, not for another's purpose."

Zuko looked into his cup and shook his head. "Uncle, you've always taught me that I should do what I think is right, but what you're telling me is nonsense. We can't just pretend that the world beyond these walls doesn't exist. You know my father will not stop until this city is his." He stood up and walked to the small window in their house and looked out at the quiet streets. "This won't last. When my father's soldiers breach these walls, this peace will die in fire and pain. I don't want to be stuck here when that happens."

Iroh joined his nephew at the windowsill. "You don't know that for sure, the walls of Ba Sing Se have stood for hundreds of years. I could not bring them down, what makes you say that your father won't fall the same way?"

"Maybe they don't fall, but then what? Am I just supposed to live here? Nothing more than a serving boy in an old man's tea shop until I die? How could you ever think that I could be happy like that?" His hands balled into fists at his sides.

"I think it will make you happy because for once in your lifetime, you will not be at war with your inner nature Zuko." He put an arm around his nephew and pulled him back towards the table.

"My inner nature? I am the son of the Fire Lord, prince of the Fire Nation, pursuing the Avatar at all costs is my inner nature!"

"No Zuko, you don't understand. Your inner nature is not defined by who your parents are or where you were born, but the kind of person that you are meant to be. I know you Zuko, you are not your father, you can choose a new path that will truly make you happy."

"What does it really mean?" His voice was quiet and he looked at the ground as he spoke.

"What does what really mean?" Iroh tried to look his nephew in the eye, but Zuko would not meet his gaze.

"Being happy. All my life I've been taught that obedience to my duties, respect for my betters and victory over my enemies are the supreme purposes of any citizen of the Fire Nation. Now you come and tell me that what I should really look for is happiness." His hands grabbed at the edges of his hair with the palms hiding his eyes. "But how can I look for happiness, when I don't even know what that is?" He threw his hands down and turned to meet his uncle's gaze, the fire and anger in his eyes matched by the peaceful warmth in his uncle's eyes.

"I cannot teach you what it means to be happy Zuko, only you can learn that for yourself, but I can help you along the way and I can tell you that doing what your father wants is not the right path to take."

"How can you say that for sure? You chose to give up everything you had, but I had it taken from me. Your path is not the same as mine. I've lost so much, but now with the Avatar back in this world, I can see the road back to home clearly for the first time in so many years. I can reclaim my crown, my honour and my future. All I have here is a dingy little house and a dingy little tea shop. You've told me that losing hope is something that can break a man." At these words, Iroh's eyes looked past Zuko towards a hill that he could not see from his house, but he knew exactly where it was. "The Avatar is my hope Uncle, my hope that I can once again be the man who I was born to be."

"You have me Zuko, I promised you that I would be your guide in these dark times and you have grown so much from the boy who left the Fire Nation as an exile all those years ago. That is what you would lose Zuko! Not a false hope, not a title or a throne, you would lose yourself. And losing that is worse than anything else that you could possibly do!" He reached out for one of Zuko's arms, but his nephew pulled away and walked back to the window.

When he reached the window, he sighed and looked back at his uncle, standing in the middle of the room beside their table, the cups of tea entirely forgotten. "Uncle, I miss my home and my family, how can you not understand that?"

Iroh eyes fell and his voice was quiet when he responded. "Zuko, you know that I lost my family a long time ago. You are my family now and I want what is best for you, not what you think you have to do in the name of honour."

"Uncle, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" he started.

Iroh cut him off. "I know you didn't mean to Zuko. I just want you to think about what you really want, what will make you happy and how you want to shape your destiny." He punctuated his sentence with jabs in the air with his finger. "Don't let your destiny be chosen by anyone other than yourself or else you will never be happy with it."

"But I'm so confused Uncle. There's so many things pulling at me and obscuring my way. I don't even know who I am anymore. How can I choose the right path when I don't even know something as simple as who I am?"

He felt his uncle's hands gently resting on his shoulders. "Zuko, you are a brave young man. You are one who unhesitatingly will follow what he believes in to the very end. You have kindness in your heart, not the darkness that you fear will swallow you whole. You must find balance in your life Zuko, you cannot survive the hatred and rage that drives so many of our people to do what they do. Please believe me Zuko, you have more honour than your father could ever know."

His eyes opened to meet his uncle's and he saw the warmth and sincerity that shined in them. "But Uncle, how can I give up everything that I've lived for? How can I turn away from everything in my past and start anew? It can't be that easy."

His uncle sat down at the table and raised his cup to his lips before responding. "No, it will not be easy. But I know that you have the courage and the strength to endure any hardship. You just need to take it one step at a time; you don't need to create a new destiny overnight. Why don't you sit down with me and take the first step with a nice warm cup of tea?"

Zuko looked away and his gaze shifted across the wall until it rested on the door. "I need some time to think. Don't come after me Uncle. I need to be alone."

"I understand. But please, take care of yourself while you are out there. The streets of Ba Sing Se are not as peaceful as they might look to you."

"I will." Zuko opened the door and stepped through, pausing to look back at his uncle, now alone at the table, before he closed the door behind him.

He walked through the quiet streets as a light rain dampened his hair. The houses in the lower circle were so uniform and small and they reflected the evident unimportance of their inhabitants. 'Is this really the world that I want to spend my life in?' Zuko thought as he walked through the rows. 'I am the prince of the Fire Nation and son of Fire Lord Ozai himself. I should reclaim my honour and my rightful place at his side. But, it was my father who sent me here, banished from my home with nothing more than a mission to find the Avatar. And it was my uncle, not my father, who came with me and stayed with me for so long and through so much. How could I betray him after all that he's done for me?' The shadows of the houses offered him no answers and he walked onward, not knowing where he was going. 'But still, how can he tell me that I can just give it all up and still be happy? I wish I knew what the future holds.'

He stopped suddenly as the sharp dividing wall between the lower circle and the rest of the city stood tall in front of him. He looked to his left and saw a building that was tall enough that he thought he could jump from the roof and reach the edge of the wall. He jumped onto the roof of a small nearby building and crept along the shadows on the rooftops, jumping from building to building until he was high enough that he could climb onto the tall building by the wall.

As he hid in the shadows at the edge of this building, he saw a pair of Dai Li agents patrolling the wall. One of their voices carried through the night to his ears. "I'm so tired Lee, all day we patrol the city, ensuring that word of the war never comes to Ba Sing Se. I've had to drag so many people away screaming and crying, begging me to believe them that there is a war just beyond these walls, one that will swallow up the entire world. Even when I go home to my family, there's no respite. When my little boy looks me in the eye and asks me how my day was, what can I tell him? That I sent someone to be brainwashed at Lake Laogai? That we are actively deceiving the Earth King on the orders of Long Feng? I'm tired of the deception. I know I've sworn my vows to the Dai Li…" His voice became too hard to hear as the two walked into the distance.

'Father, you did this, this is the world that you created. Is this what you wanted?' Zuko thought. He looked over the edge of the building and down to the street far below. 'This is probably not what Uncle wanted me to do when he told me to take care of myself, but for some reason, I have to see. I need to get onto that wall.' He walked back to the other edge of the building and, with one last glance in each direction to make sure no more Dai Li agents were patrolling nearby, he sprinted at the edge and launched himself out into the air between the building and the wall.

He hit the wall hard, but his hands found the edge and with some effort, he pulled himself up onto the wall. He could see a torch in the distance and the pair of Dai Li agents walking towards him. The fire would make it easy for him to see them, but the light would blind them to the darkness that he could hide within.

In the other direction was a small, abandoned tower built into the wall. In a time of war, it could have been used by defenders for protection while they fought off attackers at the base of the wall, but with no war within the walls of Ba Sing Se, it had started to fall into ruin. The peaked roof could still provide him with a place to sit and think, without fear of being seen by the Dai Li. He went to the tower, climbed onto the roof and around to the far side, where the light of the torches and prying eyes wouldn't find him.

He looked out over the inner circles of the city. In contrast to the tightly packed, mostly identical housing that marked the poorest district, the buildings that he could see were well-built, artistic and most of all, large. Each single house ahead could have held at least a half of a dozen families from the lower circle. Of course, his palace back in the capital city could have held dozens of these houses and probably hundreds of the poor refugees huddled in the slums behind him.

'I used to be one of these people, the powerful and influential, but now I'm nothing more than another faceless person huddled in the shadows. Is my uncle right? Would I really be happier as an ordinary person just trying to eke out an existence and avoid the destruction of this war? But what would my father say if he saw me right now? I've already abandoned my mission, my men and now I'm thinking of betraying my nation forever. How can I possibly decide between my father and my uncle? Uncle Iroh, you've been by my side since my banishment began and have taught me so much, but now you're asking me to make such an enormous choice. I've lost these past years chasing the Avatar, but I've always known that I could still return home once I had succeeded on my mission. If I take this step you're asking me to take, I wouldn't have a home to return to ever again.'

He reached up to touch the scarred flesh around his eye. 'Father, you banished me from my home, gave me this scar and with it, a mission that was supposed to keep me away forever. You helped turn this world into one of nightmares and fear. I have to hide myself and hide my firebending because so many people here in the lower circle have been chased from their homes by my people.' His eyes widened as a thought came into his mind. 'If I choose to stay here with Uncle Iroh and forget my mission to hunt the Avatar, I'll have to hide my firebending for potentially the rest of my life. Uncle, you're asking me to live a lie for the rest of my life, to swear away something that is so fundamental to my being. I don't think you were right uncle, I don't think I have the strength and courage to give up everything that I've had in my life and take a new path.'

He sat with his head in his hands, listening to the quiet noises of the city as he continued to think. 'And yet, even with such a good reason to want to return to my home and my life, a part of me wishes that I could give it all up. My uncle has been so good to me and the thought of a peaceful life is tempting. Is it really as simple as he says it is? Can I really just start over that easily? He says that my destiny is my own to shape.'

He looked to make sure that there weren't any Dai Li agents nearby and climbed down from his perch on the tower. He walked over to the spot on the wall that he had jumped to earlier and took another running leap to land on the roof of the tall building. He started to climb from rooftop to rooftop, travelling back towards his small house. 'Maybe he's right. I've always had to fight for everything that I have. If I can fight to regain my honour by capturing the Avatar, I can fight for my own happiness here. If I want it, then all I need to do is reach out and take it. Happiness, such a strange thought after spending my entire life doing what others have told me it is my duty to do.' He stopped on a rooftop just a few houses away from his own dwelling and sat down in the shadows. 'I don't want to wake my uncle now. I'll let him know what I've decided in the morning.' He sat down on the flat, hard roof and closed his eyes. 'Father, Uncle, you've both been parents to me and teachers, but I need to make a choice. I can't continue to deny the truth that what you want from me is unavoidably in conflict.' His thoughts quickly faded as he fell asleep.

* * *

Two dragons circled him as he stood alone at the centre of a wide open expanse. He could feel the heat that radiated from their scales as they wound around him again and again. They seemed to be two halves of the same whole and yet the air was alive with fire and violence. The dragons circled, chasing each other around him, he couldn't tell what they were trying to do. Although they were so similar and the heat from both was unbearably hot, he could tell that it was different. The heat from one was like a forest fire, uncontrollable in its violence. It threatened to devour everything in sight with a savagery that ignored any question to the authority of its power. Yet even with all the hatred and power that burned in the one, the other burned hotter. That heat was not projected outward, trying to burn everything around it like the other dragon, but inward and he tried to pull away from the incredible heat.

Every time that one of the dragons passed by his face, its head turned to look him in the eyes. He knew what they were and what they represented. The forces that battled within him, his father and uncle, his life here and his life in the Fire Nation, all the possibilities that were open to him were embodied in those two bodies that continued to circle around him. It was an endlessly revolving wheel of peace and violence. Both had such strength, but they were not the same. He had to make a choice and stop the endless conflict within himself.

He closed his eyes and stepped forward to reach his hand out to touch a dragon. The circle stopped and the dragon that stopped in front of him turned to face him. Its eyes were filled with hatred and its lips curled back as it roared in his face.

"I don't fear you. I have made my choice," Zuko said and stared back without flinching as the roar died back to silence. It drew back for a second, then surged forward again and flames burst from its mouth and raced towards him. His hands sliced the air and the fire began to bend around him. The flames kept coming and his hands shook as they split the fire around his body. He was driven down to his knees and the fire forced his arms to bend.

Suddenly, his strength broke. He was thrown backwards and outside of the circling bodies of the dragons. He waited for the hard impact of the ground, but it never came. He fell, watching the dragons rise farther and farther away from him with each passing second. Shapes whipped by his face and he felt himself turn to look at the darkness below him. He hit the ground painlessly and sunk into a black mass. He tried to pull himself free, but his muscles refused to respond. The darkness covered his torso and climbed up his body until only his face remained free. Looking up, he could see the dragons flying down towards him. The closer one's mouth opened wide to reveal a set of sharp fangs that descended down to swallow him. The darkness closed over his face just before the dragon reached him.

He opened his eyes and saw dozens of rows of people standing in front of him. "All hail Fire Lord Zuko!" Thousands of voices echoed and he looked down at himself to see his father's ceremonial robes covering his body. "You must lead us Fire Lord, do not forsake your duty to us. We need your guidance!" Every single person bowed down in front of him as they started to chant his name.

"No, wait, I'm not," Zuko started to say.

"Fire Lord Zuko! I have come for you!" a voice called from behind his subjects and he could suddenly see the Avatar, towering over the people between him and Zuko. As he approached, he seemed to grow until he towered over the palace itself. He reached out a hand and a giant tidal wave rushed over the palace grounds, covering the people cowering beneath and racing towards Zuko.

It crashed into him and he was thrown back, the darkness of the water closed in around him.

* * *

Zuko's eyes shot open. He was on a rooftop in Ba Sing Se. 'It was nothing more than a dream,' he thought as he got to his feet. He looked and saw the sun beginning to rise above the eastern wall. He smiled and looked down into the street, where people were beginning their day. It was the same bustle that he'd seen every day since he'd arrived, but today seemed more orderly and more purposeful. He climbed down into an alley and walked out into the street. Weaving through the people quickly led him to the house he shared with his uncle. He took a deep breath and walked through the door.

His uncle was sitting at the table with two cups of tea. The steam that rose from the cups gave away that they must be freshly made. When the door opened, his uncle turned slowly to look and stood up quickly when he saw Zuko's face. "Zuko, you worried me. Thank goodness that you're back."

"I've made my choice Uncle Iroh. I'll stay here with you. I'm going to take a peaceful life and search for happiness right here."

"That's wonderful Zuko! Come inside, sit down and we can have a nice hot cup of tea together."

* * *

**Once again, please leave a review. I enjoy all of them, comments, criticisms, declarations of undying love, brutal flames with more hatred than pre-redemption Zuko here and worse grammar. So feel free to leave your thoughts.**


	2. Forgiveness

"Where do these two go Uncle?" Zuko asked, carrying a tray with a pair of cups filled with Iroh's now renowned tea.

"The third table on the left. The elderly man has the cup on your left and his wife has the other," Iroh answered as he tended to the tea that he was preparing for other customers. Since Zuko's decision to stay in Ba Sing Se with his uncle for a peaceful and happy life, he had become an enthusiastic helper at the tea shop where he and his uncle worked. It was a simple life, but despite everything that he expected, he was enjoying it and was almost willing to say he was happy.

"Your tea sir, I hope you enjoy it," he said and placed the two cups of tea on the table between the old man and lady.

"Thank you, tell your uncle that he still makes the best tea in Ba Sing Se," the old man said, raising the cup to his lips and swallowing with a weary smile.

"He will be very happy to hear you say that," Zuko said with a small bow of his head. He walked back to his uncle and relayed the compliment. His uncle's smile brought out a matching one on his own face and an unfamiliar warmth in his heart. "Are the teas ready for the Dai Li agents? They've been giving me pretty hostile looks. I just want to serve them so that I can get them out of our tea shop." His smile faded as his eyes shifted back at the two agents, who were sitting at a table isolated from the other patrons of the tea shop. The other patrons were crowded into the tables as far away from the agents as they could get and the normally lively teahouse was subdued as people kept their conversations quiet enough that their voices didn't carry beyond their tables.

"Yes they are and be sure that you are polite to the agents as they are some of our best customers. They helped protect this shop when that angry young man accused us of firebending," Iroh said and passed a tray to Zuko.

"They look at us like we're prey. I don't like it," Zuko said before he turned to walk over to the Dai Li.

"Finally, I was starting to think that you'd forgotten about us," one of the agents said as Zuko reached the table.

Zuko placed the cups on the table and replied, "We have to take care of our other patrons as well, I apologize for the delay." He gave a slight bow, but when he straightened, he met the agent's eyes and felt the familiar hum of anger at the affront to his uncle.

The agent held his gaze for a couple of seconds and then turned back to his tea. "Well, the tea here is worth the wait. I suppose I can forgive you the delay." He raised the cup and nodded as his lips curved into a smile when he tasted the tea. "Truly this is the finest tea I have ever tasted. I should share this marvel of the lower circle with the men at the palace. Perhaps your uncle could be invited to serve tea to some of the lesser bureaucrats from the upper circle. Be sure to tell him that some of the undersecretaries of the Earth Kingdom, perhaps even one of the government's ministers' permanent secretaries themselves may want to have an opportunity to drink this wonderful tea."

"I'm sure he would be very grateful at your invitation," Zuko said, but instead of smiling, his face became even more emotionless. He turned and walked away before either of the agents had a chance to say anything further.

He returned to his uncle, who was taking a short break as all the tables were filled and had already been served. "Zuko, I saw you talking to the Dai Li agents after you served them. Did they say anything important?"

"No Uncle, just that they enjoy your tea very much," he said, meeting his uncle's eyes after a brief hesitation.

His uncle looked past him to catch the eye of the Dai Li agents, who were both watching the exchange between Zuko and his uncle and once Iroh made eye contact, he bowed deeply to the agents. The agent that had talked to Zuko raised his cup and nodded in return.

"Now Zuko, there's an empty table there, go clear the used glasses away so we can get some new patrons in to have some tea," Iroh said, gesturing towards the table.

* * *

At the end of the day, Iroh and Zuko were working to clear the tables as the last patrons walked out into the twilight. Out of the corner of his eye, Iroh noticed someone waiting by the door. When he recognized her face, he said, "Zuko, it seems someone's here to see you. Go see her; I can finish clearing the tables."

Zuko turned to see the visitor and nearly dropped his tray when he saw Jin waiting by the door, anxiously looking back and forth between him and the ground. He paused for a second while his brain attempted to process seeing her, then he turned to his uncle. "Uncle, are you sure that you'll be alright here by yourself?"

"Zuko, I think I can handle a few cups and dirty tables on my own. Go on, talk to her," his uncle said, making a shooing motion with one hand.

After putting his tray down on the nearest table, Zuko walked over to Jin. He could feel his heart racing in his chest and saw that as he came closer her hands became more and more restless, grasping at each other and tapping at the hem of her shirt. When Zuko reached her, they stood facing each other in silence, neither willing to meet the other's eyes nor willing to be the first to speak. After a few more awkward seconds, Zuko said, "Jin, what are… what are you doing here?"

Her hands separated and tightened into fists at her sides. He could hear her take a deep breath before she said, "I came here to talk to you." She paused for a second and in an even quieter voice said, "I wanted to see you."

"Oh, well," Zuko said, "Maybe we should step outside, so we can speak in relative privacy." He glanced back at his uncle, who was very slowly cleaning the nearest table and doing his utmost to not appear to be straining to listen.

Jin's shoulders seemed to stiffen for a second, but then she nodded slightly. "Yes, that would probably be best."

They stepped outside and Zuko led her in silence to an alley nearby, shaded from both the last rays of sun disappearing behind the walls and the bustle of everyone hurrying home for the evening. "What did you want to talk to me about?" he said. She flinched slightly at his blunt tone and he thought, 'That's a great start. Why did that have to come out so harshly?'

She turned away from him and walked a few steps away, bringing her hands up to her face. Her voice was quiet, so he had to move so that he was directly behind her, so close that they were nearly touching, but the small gap between them still seemed like a huge divide. "I don't know what to think about the other day," she said, still facing away from him.

"Oh, you mean when we…" he said.

"Yes, when we went out on a date. I'm so confused. The whole time you were kind to me and seemed to want me to enjoy myself, but it felt like you were hiding yourself from me. Like there's something that you couldn't let me know about you. And then at the fountain, I know you had something to do with the lights coming on, you must have. And then, when I kissed you, you kissed me back, but then you ran away, and then…" Her voice trailed off as she tried to blink back the tears that gathered at the corners of her eyes. She turned to face him and said, "I really like you and I just want to know how you feel about me. If you feel the same about me, I'd be so happy, but if you didn't then… just… please." The tears rolled freely down her face as her voice faltered.

He didn't know what force compelled him to act. In hindsight, he thought it could have been his newfound desire to search for happiness or maybe he wanted to stop her tears. He reached out and with one hand pulled her by the waist into a tight embrace, then kissed her with all the passion that had once burned as hatred and rage and had driven him to follow the Avatar across the world.

For a few seconds, she didn't respond at all. She didn't pull away, but neither did she press back against him. Her arms were rigid against her side and he could feel her hands shaking and her tears running onto his face from hers.

Then her arms went around his neck and she pulled him even closer towards her as she finally returned his kiss. Even with all that had happened to both of them in their lives, for a brief moment, all that mattered was each other. They were just two ordinary people clinging to each other against all of the horrors of the world. For possibly the first time in Zuko's life, his mind was clear of all the duties and responsibilities of his past and station that burdened him. He felt her lips soft against his and her body yielding to the strength of his arms.

The moment passed and she pulled away from the kiss to meet his eyes. Even knowing so little about him, he could see warmth and love in her eyes and felt a matching warmth in his heart. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder. "I guess that's a 'yes,'" she said, her voice still shaking.

Zuko could feel her tears soaking his tunic as he held her. He raised a hand from her waist to brush softly against her hair. "Why are you crying? Aren't you happy?" he said.

She looked up at him and the tears on her face stood out against the wide smile and the glow that seemed to come from within her. "Of course I'm happy. It's just so overwhelming that I don't know how to handle it all," she said. She gave a choked-up laugh and continued, "You don't know girls very well do you? We don't just cry because we're sad, we cry because we couldn't hold in all the emotion if we tried. I'm so happy that I don't know what else to do." She pulled his head towards hers for another kiss, this time gentle compared to the unrestrained passion of the first.

When they separated, he said, "Well, now what? I guess I'm not really any good at this."

She laughed quietly and said, "You could take me on a date now and if you don't have somewhere to run off to again, maybe this one will end better than the last."

"Well I… I mean I didn't really mean to run off and, well I didn't want to make you sad," he said.

Her hug tightened for a second before she pulled away. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me and I'm happier than ever now," she said and walked to the end of the alley, where it opened back up into the streets. She looked back and offered her hand to him, beckoning him forward. He walked over to her, took her hand and they walked out into the streets together.

Even in the few short minutes that they had spent in the alley, daylight had disappeared behind the walls; the air had cooled off significantly and the crowd had thinned to a few people closing businesses for the day and leaving for home.

"Come on, I know just the place that we can go," she said and pulled him down one of the streets leading towards the city's outer walls. He followed her along a winding path through the houses and although she seemed to know exactly where she was going, he wasn't sure that he'd be able to find his way back alone if he needed to. Eventually, they walked out of the small side streets into a broad thoroughfare that led straight from the outer wall to the inner wall that divided the lower circle from the rest of the city. Even at this hour, trains still rolled past overhead.

She pointed to a four-storey building close to the outer wall. "What's that?" Zuko asked.

"There's a series of ladders at the back that we can use to climb up to the top. I used to play up there a lot when I was younger. We called it the Adventurer's Roost, but I haven't been up in years. From the top of it, you can see out over the wall. Come on, it'll be fun," she said and ran off to the building.

'See the outside world. I wonder if she really knows what that world is like,' Zuko thought as he followed her to the back of the building. As she had claimed, there were a series of ladders leading to progressively higher landings until they reached the very top of the building. However, the ladders didn't look extremely safe. In fact, they looked like they were the exact same ladders that Jin would've climbed all those years ago as a child. "Maybe you should let me go first, that way if the ladders break, it'll be me who falls and not you," he said.

She mimed an exaggerated swoon and said, "Oh my gallant hero, of course you may go first."

He shook his head and turned to hide his smile as he began to climb. Surprisingly, the ladders' appearances belied great stability and they were able to climb all the way to the top of the building without any mishaps. At the top, they walked together to the edge of the building and sat down. Zuko put an arm around Jin and she rested against his side, both of them looking out over the wall. The land beyond the walls was barren, but silent. "You're not originally from Ba Sing Se are you? What's out there? I've never been beyond the walls."

Zuko looked out over the expanse and images of armies, war machines and burning villages filled his head. For a brief moment, he wanted to tell her the truth. To tell her about all the atrocities that the world had seen in the last hundred years and even tell her of his personal role in the endless cycle of destruction. 'No, I can't. For all I know, I could've been directly responsible for the death of someone in her own family. If I'm truly going to put my past behind me, then I need to forget that life ever happened and start fresh with a new one,' he thought. He glanced over to see that Jin had been giving him a strange look at his prolonged silence. "I'd rather not talk about it. I saw some terrible things while I was out there. My uncle and I came here with the hope that we can start over and escape our pasts." He could see the concern in her eyes, so he forced a smile to soften his words. 'There, that wasn't exactly a lie. It's not really the full truth, but it's good enough for now,' he thought.

"I'm sorry I brought it up," she said, looking down at the ground far below them. She looked back to meet his eyes and smiled. "But you're here now and that's all that matters." She moved over slightly so that she was pressed up against him and closed her eyes as his arm held her tightly to him.

"Yeah, you're right. That's all that matters," he said as he closed his eyes. In his mind, he could see hundreds of faces, all the people that he had hurt as the banished prince of the Fire Nation. He tried to push them away from his mind. He had changed and his life was different now, so he wasn't the same man who had shattered so many lives with fire and war. But he couldn't deny that he had done all those things. As he struggled to clear his mind, the faces started to fade away until there was only a single person, standing facing away from him. In his mind, he started to move closer to the figure. When he got closer, he could tell that it was a girl. 'Jin!" he thought. Then the figure turned to face him. It was not Jin. Despite all the years that had passed, he knew the face in an instant.

It was his childhood friend Mai. "How could you forget me so easily?" her voice was the child's monotone that he remembered, even though she had Jin's older figure.

He jumped backwards, pulling away from Jin and scrambling to the middle of the rooftop. She stared at him, half shocked and half concerned at his sudden action. "What is it? What's wrong?"

His mind raced as he tried to think of a suitable response. "I just had… a bad memory of something from when I was younger," he said, relieved that he could once again avoid a complete lie.

She stood up and walked over to him, then put her arms around him to pull him in for a kiss. When they separated from the kiss, she continued the embrace and leaned towards his ear to say, "I'm really sorry I brought up your past. I knew that you and your uncle came here from outside, so I should've assumed that you were refugees like so many other people here." She smiled and said, "We're together now, so you can forget about what forced you to come here. I promise I won't bring it up again. I just want to see you happy," and then she closed her eyes and kissed him once more.

Although he kissed her back and felt the now-familiar warmth returning to his heart, he couldn't shake the thoughts of Mai. 'Am I just thinking about her because I didn't need to lie to her about who I was? I hope she's safe and happy, she was always so sad when I knew her as a child. Well, except for those rare occasions when we were alone and I could coax a smile out of her. That's such a difference from Jin. With her, she always seems to have a smile and I'm the sole cause for her to be sad. I guess now I lose either way. There's always going to be so much unhappiness in the world, but at least for Jin maybe I can make a difference. Besides, I doubt Mai would even want to see me after all these years. Nobody from home wants anything to do with 'the banished prince.' And if Jin and I are happy together, maybe there doesn't need to be anything more to it than that.' When they separated, he smiled and for the first time, he wasn't trying to hide anything behind it or to disguise a double-meaning with it. He just smiled because he was happy. "Come on, we'd better go before the Dai Li start patrolling, I don't want to think of what they'd do to you if we were caught out here late at night," he said.

"You're right, we should go," she said. They climbed down the series of ladders with Zuko once again taking the lead. This time it turned out to be the right decision as the very last ladder broke as Jin was climbing down it. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and was able to catch her as she fell, but the sudden weight added to being off-balance from the rapid movement meant that they fell to the ground in a heap, her lying on top of him. She giggled and said, "I think I'm falling for you."

"Please tell me you didn't just make that joke," he said as he got to his feet and helped her up.

"I definitely did," she said. Her smile disappeared as she noticed a pair of Dai Li agents walking down the nearby street.

Zuko followed her gaze and his expression hardened. "Come on, follow me. I know how to avoid them," he said, taking her hand and pulling her along behind him. "I don't know where your house is, but I'm sure my uncle will be willing to let you stay the night if I ask, especially to protect you from the Dai Li."

"I'd like that," she said and let Zuko take her along with him. He led her through the winding alleyways and his years as an exile and later as a fugitive helped him to avoid the many Dai Li agents that had appeared to enforce the lower city curfew. He didn't really want to admit to her that he only had a vague idea of where he was going, but figured that if he went in the same direction for long enough, he would eventually see something familiar that he could use to find his way home.

* * *

After many tense minutes of sneaking through the city, including two incredibly close calls where nothing more than Zuko's gut feeling of danger saved them from being sighted, they arrived at the front door of Zuko and Iroh's house. He opened the door and quickly pulled Jin inside, then shut the door behind them. Iroh was sitting at the table with a cup of tea and looked up at their arrival, and then his mouth curved into broad smile. "If I had known that we would be having guests, I would have prepared more tea, but my nephew can help me make a cup of tea for you and him," he said and then looked directly at Jin. "Make yourself comfortable my dear. We'll only be a few minutes."

Jin took a seat at the table and Zuko joined his uncle by the kettle. Iroh nudged him with an elbow and said, "See, you should have listened to me and bought something to spruce up your room. She's going to find it pretty drab. That is, if either of you actually bother to notice anything in the room while you're in their together." He laughed and poured the boiling water into a pair of cups.

"What's so funny?" Jin said.

"Oh nothing," Iroh said with a grin at Zuko. He started whistling cheerily as he directed Zuko to pick out a pair of bags of tea leaves for the cups.

When they had finished preparing the tea and sat down at the table, Zuko said, "Uncle, it's late already…"

His uncle cut him off in a cheery tone, "Can she stay here overnight so she doesn't need to sneak home under the Dai Li's nose? Of course she can." He raised his cup to his mouth to hide his broad smile.

"Thank you very much sir," Jin said, with a gracious bow of her head.

Iroh smiled and said, "Oh think nothing of it. Any friend of my nephew's is welcome in my house, especially such a pretty girl as you. And you can call me Iroh or even Uncle Iroh, if you want. He gave Zuko a wink at the last bit. "Now enjoy your tea before it goes cold," he said and took another sip from his own cup.

When Zuko and Jin had finished their tea, they stood up and he led her towards his room. Iroh chuckled and said, "Have a nice night you two." Zuko made sure that his face gave away no response to his uncle's comment, but Jin giggled behind a hand. They walked into his room and shut the door behind them. Iroh shook his head, "Teenage love, those were the days," he said to no one in particular and then went to prepare himself another cup of tea.

* * *

**Now that you've read this, I encourage you to leave a review. Although the thrill of telling a story is the bread and butter of writing for me, reviews are like the little sprinkles put on top of an ice cream sundae, each delicious in its own right.**


	3. Sorrow

It had been a few days since Jin had first stayed overnight with him and with each passing day, he felt closer to her. His life had fallen into a comfortable routine. Every day he helped his uncle in the tea shop, which had grown to be known as one of the wonders of Ba Sing Se; at the end of every workday, he met Jin at the door and the two of them would spend the evenings together exploring the lower city. When he first arrived in the city, he thought of the lower city as a slum, the dwelling of the poor and forgotten, but now it truly felt like home and the nights spent with Jin in his arms were some of the happiest of his life.

Today was no different and even while he was busy clearing the tables so his uncle could close the shop for the night, he was anxiously looking for Jin's arrival. However, she hadn't arrived yet and Zuko's mind started to wander onto the possible reasons for the delay. "Zuko, you don't need to be nervous," his uncle's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"How could you tell I was nervous?"

"You've been cleaning the same cup for a couple minutes now, while staring directly at the door the entire time," his uncle said and took the cup from his nephew. "You don't need to worry Zuko. I don't think I've ever seen a girl as crazy for a guy as that Jin of yours, she'll be here."

"I wasn't really worried about her not wanting to be here. I'm worried that something else is keeping her from being here."

His uncle's expression turned serious and he said, "Don't worry Zuko. If she isn't here by the time we close up, I'll help you go look for her. Does that sound good?"

"Alright Uncle," Zuko said and went to another table to continue working, but kept an eye on the doorway.

Not long afterwards, his fears were dispelled when Jin walked through the door and gave him a smile. She turned to Iroh and bowed to him and he bowed in return saying, "It's good to see you Jin, I was worried something was keeping you."

"You were worried?" she said with a pointed look at Zuko, who was making a point of cleaning a cup very carefully and not appearing relieved. "I had to help my family at the market. Our neighbours have a little baby and we wanted to give them something to help them get by, so they brought me along to carry a basket."

Iroh smiled and said, "What a kind young lady you are, you could teach my nephew a few things."

Her cheeks reddened slightly and she said, "Oh, I think he's a very kind person."

Iroh chuckled and picked up the kettle from the back. "I didn't mean to imply that he wasn't. There are some leftovers. Would you like me to make you a cup of tea while you wait for my nephew to finish his work?"

"I'd love that. Your tea is the best I've ever had," she said.

"Oh flattery will get you everywhere," Iroh said and proceeded to prepare a cup of tea from the leftover water and leaves. "Now Jin, let me tell you a secret. The ingredient that makes all the difference…"

"Is love," she finished with him. "You've mentioned that nearly every time you've made me a cup of tea."

"Well, it's the truth," Iroh said as he gave Jin the cup. He looked over to Zuko and said, "You'd better hurry up, I wouldn't want to keep this young lady waiting."

* * *

Several minutes later, Zuko and Iroh had finished cleaning the shop and had closed it for the night and since Jin had also finished her cup of tea, she and Zuko were leaving together. Iroh called after them, "Take care you two."

"We will Uncle," Zuko said and then put an arm around Jin to walk with her down the street.

"You know what I feel like doing tonight?" Jin said, stopping to pull Zuko in the opposite direction that they were walking. "I want to go back to the fountain we visited on our first date. It'll be so romantic, especially without you running away this time." Zuko agreed with a bit of a sheepish grin and they started walking together to the fountain.

As they walked, they talked about all sorts of things, but what amazed and delighted Zuko was how perfectly ordinary the conversation was. Compared to the endless talk of war that had occupied his life in the Fire Nation and the single-minded focus on the Avatar since his banishment; talking about something as simple as an upcoming parade seemed strange. Despite that, he couldn't have been happier. He had a wonderful girl and perhaps even more importantly, he was at peace. The fires that used to rage in his heart had quieted to the warmth of life.

They arrived at the fountain and fortunately for Zuko's secrecy, the lanterns were all already lit. Jin led him over to the edge of the fountain, sat down and motioned for him to do the same. "When we came here the first time," she said, taking his hand, "none of the lanterns were lit. But then, you told me to cover my eyes and when I opened them, they were all lit."

Zuko looked away and didn't say anything.

She leaned in so that she could speak softly into his ear. "You're a firebender, aren't you?" Zuko could feel an initial panic at the thought that his secret was out and that he and his uncle were going to be forced to flee once again. But then, the panic gave way to a deeper pain. Knowing that he was a firebender almost certainly would mean that Jin wouldn't want anything to do with him anymore. As much as it surprised him, the thought of being separated from her was worse than even the threat of turning the entire lower city against him.

But when he looked into her eyes, he knew that he couldn't continue to lie to her. The trust and love that showed in her eyes was just too much for him. He took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I am. My uncle and I came here to run away from the Fire Nation's army. That much is true, but we weren't running because we were refugees, we ran because we deserted from the army."

He braced himself for her response, but when it came it was not angry or afraid like he expected. "I figured you were. Don't worry; your secret is safe with me. I know how many people around here are here because the army chased them from their homes and they probably wouldn't stop to notice how nice of a person you are and just blame you for your nation's wrongs."

"Our wrongs are all of ours to bear. They would be right to blame for things the army has done," he said and his head added, 'because I was probably the one who ordered the army to burn their homes to the ground when I wanted to find the Avatar.'

"Don't say that. You've shown me nothing but kindness; I know you're a good person, so it doesn't matter where you came from. I told you that I'd keep your secret to myself and I will, I promise," she said and then leaned in to kiss him.

He didn't even know what to think, but he pressed back against her and put his arms around her to hold her as tightly as he could. 'I don't know what I've done to deserve someone like her, but I'm not going to let her go,' he thought. They pulled apart and he reached up to brush a stray hair behind her ear.

She looked over at the fountain and said, "I love how the light reflects off of the water; it's so beautiful." She let her head rest on his shoulder. "But not as much as I love you. I'd give up ever seeing the fountain again if it meant that I could spend more time with you."

Zuko was taken aback. He knew that she liked him and he knew how much he cared for her, but this was the first time that either of them had actually used the word love. She wasn't looking at him, but he could feel the slight tensing in her body that gave away that she was waiting for a response. "I love you too Jin," he said after the long hesitation and he could feel her body relax into his once again.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Jin sat up straight and broke the silence, "I have an idea, come on." She stood up and pulled Zuko along with her. They half ran and half stumbled over around a corner and out into a small street. Jin pulled him over to the back of a building until her back was up against the wall with Zuko pressed tightly up against her. "Nobody ever comes down this street, we have complete privacy," she said and then pulled Zuko in for a deep, passionate kiss.

Zuko felt her tongue pressing against his lips and opened up to allow her entry. Her tongue was warm and he felt himself returning the sensation by running his own along the edge of hers. It was pleasant to say the least and his mind became more and more occupied by enjoying it as much as he could. Without even consciously thinking about it, one hand started to run up and down her side, while the other moved up to cup her face and back of her neck.

He could hear a soft groan vibrating through her mouth to his. His hand ran down her body and his touch brought a smile to her mouth as they continued to kiss. She broke away from the kiss and turned them around so his back was against the wall and she stepped forward to press him against it. Her hands ran up under his shirt and over his chest, which brought an involuntary shiver out of Zuko. She took one of his hands and pulled it towards her own chest, while the other continued to caress him.

He let her pull his hand and cupped her breast gently. Her hand remained on top of his and made his gently massage her breast, while she groaned in pleasure. After a couple of seconds, he started to move his hand of his own volition and opened his eyes to see the reaction that matched her now constant, soft moans.

Something at the corner of his vision caught his eye and he glanced over to see what it was. It was fire, rising up above the line of building and it was coming from the exact direction of his home and the teahouse. In shock, he pulled away from her to stare at the flames. "What are you do–" she said, until she turned to see the flames. Then she voiced what was on both of their minds, "We have to go see if the teahouse is safe. Come on!"

Zuko took off at a run, leaving Jin behind as he sprinted towards the source of the flames. First, he passed his home and, seeing that it was safe, pounded on the door to make sure that his uncle knew about the fire. When a few seconds passed without a response, he assumed that his uncle already knew and was there. He ran off towards the teahouse with his heart pounding in his chest. As he got closer, he could see that his fears were realized and it was indeed the teahouse that was the origin of the fire.

His uncle was standing outside and he called out to him. "Uncle, what happened? How did it start?"

He stopped in front of Iroh, who said, "I don't know. One moment I was enjoying a nice cup of tea and then the next our neighbours were knocking at the door telling me that my teahouse was on fire. I came as soon as I could but we haven't been able to get the fire under control yet, so I haven't been able to take a look inside."

Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko saw a figure sneaking away down an alley. "Uncle, stay here and keep an eye on Jin. I saw someone suspicious. I'll be back soon," he said and took off after the figure.

He ran into the alleyway and saw the figure taking a turn up ahead. "Stop! Come back!" he shouted after them, but they neither stopped nor turned around to face him. He ran after them through the alleys. They turned and he turned; they sprinted and he sprinted, but his time in the city had weakened Zuko and he felt himself falling behind with each successive turn. Before long, he knew that he had to find another way to catch them because he wouldn't be able to run them down through sheer speed and endurance. As he followed them through the twisting streets, he suddenly realized that the very chance he needed was just up ahead. On one particular trek with Jin through the city, they had happened upon an abandoned drainage system that wound underneath the lower city. One entrance to it was just up ahead and it opened out on the other side of a row of houses into another small side street. This by itself wasn't significant, but that side street was the only way the figure could run from here and without taking the drainage pipes, they would have to run quite a way and double back on the other side of the houses, so he could cut them off if he took the shortcut.

As the figure sprinted further ahead of him down the surface path, he ducked down into the pipe and started to run through. Fortunately for him, the earthbending that these pipes had made them quite large, so he could run fully upright and quickly got across to the other side. He peered out to see how far away the figure was, so he could jump out close enough that they couldn't just turn around and flee the other way. Tightly packed houses lined either side of the street, so the approaching figure could only run directly towards him or turn around entirely. As they approached, Zuko realized that it was a Dai Li agent that he'd been pursuing.

He was unarmed, so he knew that surprising them was his only chance. He waited until they got as close as he could let them get and ran out into the street. The agent stopped running and said, "What do you want? If you know what's best for you, you'll move out of the way."

"What did you do to my uncle's teahouse?" Zuko said.

"What the Dai Li does or doesn't do is none of your business civilian, now move along," the agent said and took a fighting stance.

"You will tell me what you did," Zuko said prepared to defend himself. "I saw you running away and I've heard all about how you try and suppress rumours of the war. Do you really think burning down our tea shop is going to scare us away?"

"Fine then, I'll just have to take you into custody and deal with the problem a little more directly. A few days at Lake Laogai will deal you," he said and his hand reached into his tunic and then he threw a metal claw at Zuko.

Zuko saw the claw flying through the air and sidestepped. As the claw flew past, he grabbed the chain attached and used it to pull the Dai Li agent towards him. While they tried to recover their balance, he charged forward, hoping to finish the battle without needing to firebend.

The Dai Li agent stumbled forward as his trusty chain was turned against him. He had never seen such speed out of one of these lower city types. They must have been ex-military or at least a skilled warrior in whatever unimportant village they hailed from.

Not that he didn't enjoy the occasional challenge. He stepped forward and struck forward and felt the earth obey his commands as a wall of rock rumbled forward at the target.

The agent sent a wall of rocks at him, but Zuko barely slowed as he ran. 'I've fought the Avatar, do you think you really have a chance?' Zuko thought. Just as the wall was about to hit him, he leapt into the air and used the very top of the wall to launch himself forward.

This one was pretty good, but they can't control where they go in the air. The agent threw two quick punches and two fists of rock shot outward to restrain the figure.

Zuko didn't want to be forced to reveal his firebending, but he was caught in the air with two fists flying at him. His palm shot forward and he felt the near-forgotten rage explode to life within him as the air around his hand burst into flames. The strength of the fire punched straight through the fists of rock and he landed on the ground just in front of the agent, his hands wreathed in flame. "Now, you will tell me what you did," Zuko said.

The agent let his head fall in defeat, but then dashed forward and tried to tackle the mysterious firebender to the ground. As he got close, he brought his palms crashing together in front of his chest and knew that the earth would make a shield to carry him safely through.

Zuko wasn't surprised that the agent tried to continue to fight, but he had no idea why he charged forward instead of trying some more earthbending trickery. The sudden armour of earth that covered the agent as he hurtled towards Zuko took him by surprise. The agent crashed into him and they flew towards the nearby wall. Zuko reached out behind him and pushed the heat out through his muscles in the form of a pair of fire jets. He let the jet slow them down as they approached the building, pushed off the ground and felt himself being forced backwards until his feet pressed against the wall behind him. The combined pressure of the agent pushing forward and the wall, unyielding behind him, held him off the ground.

All he had to do was keep pushing forward and he could crush this firebender into paste. He planted his feet against the ground and starting pulling the earth behind him forward. He could feel it sliding forward and helping to close the gap between the building and his rock armour.

Zuko felt himself being crushed backwards by the earthbender's strength. He concentrated all his strength, waiting for the chance for one focused strike. The agent drew back to gather his strength and Zuko let the heat explode outwards. The explosion threw the agent to the ground and punched a hole in the wall behind him. He ran forward, grabbed the agent, who was lying injured on the ground and pinned him down.

The sudden explosion vaporized the rocks that he had armoured himself with. Before he had a chance to get to his feet, he was being held down with a fireball hovering uncomfortably close to his face.

"Now you'll tell me what I want or I'll burn it out of you. What did you do to my uncle's teahouse?" Zuko said.

"Alright, I was the one who set the fire, I'll admit it. But I was only doing it on orders from my superiors."

"Who ordered you to do this? I'll hunt him down for what he did!"

The agent opened his mouth to answer, but his eyes widened as they looked past Zuko to a nearby rooftop. Zuko wouldn't have turned to look, assuming that it was a trick, but he instinctively felt the attack coming.

He leapt aside as a wave of blue fire arched down to the ground, where he and the agent, who had rolled away, had been just a moment before. Blue fire could only mean one thing and he spun around, but no one was there. He turned back and the agent had fled out into the street and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Although he didn't learn who had ordered the burning of his uncle's teahouse, he had something even more important to tell Iroh. He ran back to the teahouse where he had left his uncle to chase the Dai Li agent.

* * *

When he returned to the tea shop, he found his uncle sitting outside with a grim look on his face. "Uncle, I managed to catch up to–" he started.

"Zuko, I need to tell you," his uncle said.

"Uncle, when I caught up to him, I had him and then," he started trying to talk over his uncle.

"Zuko, listen to me," his uncle kept trying to get his attention.

"Someone sent fire at me Uncle and it was blue, you know there's only one firebender that."

"Zuko, they took Jin!" his uncle took him by the shoulders and shook him once.

"What?" Any thoughts of firebending had left Zuko's mind.

"The Dai Li came by after you left and took her. There was nothing I could do to stop them. I think it was a trap Zuko, the fire I mean. They just wanted to lure you away so that they could take her."

"Stay here Uncle, I'll be back soon." Zuko said. He turned to walk to their house as thoughts whirled through his head. How could he possibly believe that he could escape his destiny? He was the prince of the Fire Nation and pretending otherwise just brought destruction to those who didn't deserve it. He had tried to deny who he was and had dragged Jin into his world of pain and war. The rage burned inside of him and he barely held the fires back from erupting outward and annihilating everything around him. He realized what a fool he had been, but now he was going to set it right. He would rescue Jin from the Dai Li and then he would remove himself from her life, so that he could never hurt her again.

When he arrived at their house, he went straight to his room and opened a chest that sat untouched in the corner. Inside were a blue oni mask and a pair of gleaming swords. It was time that he embraced his true destiny. No matter what he wanted, he couldn't escape the truth. He strapped the swords onto his back and hid the oni mask in his tunic. He turned and left his room as the fires in his heart threatened to envelop him.

When he left the room, he found his uncle waiting in the room for him. "Zuko, a message came from the palace. We've been invited to serve them tea." His face showed little emotion, even when he noticed the pair of swords that Zuko was now wearing.

"Good. I have some unfinished business with the Dai Li. What I wanted to tell you earlier was I was stopped by a firebender who used blue fire. She must be behind this, only Azula could be capable of ordering this wanton cruelty."

His uncle's expression turned harder still. "Then we'd best be prepared for anything. I doubt we will have a chance to return here. Gather anything you need. I'll give what I can to the neighbours to help them out and I'm going to burn the rest." He stopped at the door and looked back at Zuko. "I'm sorry Zuko. Do not let this convince you that happiness is the wrong path."

"I know my path Uncle." He turned away from his uncle and let the fires burn through the room until no evidence remained of Zuko's brief life of happiness.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it. This concludes Zuko's story in Ba Sing Se (although I'm debating on adding an epilogue, but I wouldn't hold your breath). Sorry about the delay between this chapter and the previous one, I've had a busy week and it slipped my mind that I needed to put this chapter up.

As always, I encourage you to leave a review. As much as I just enjoy seeing the page views counter rise, I also enjoy reading reviews and I almost always take the time to respond, even if it is just a word or two.


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